Jun 29 2009
I've recently found myself surrounded by dogs, and dog assignments. I just got back from a week's vacation, and right before I left one of my last assignments was to photograph Patron, the Pit Bull formerly owned by Pittsburgh Steeler James Harrison. Patron is in the care of trainer Mary Kay Kain and her husband Raymond Kain, who work with aggressive dogs with the goal of placing them in new homes.
And today, upon my return, I was sent to Kennywood to photograph the Wiener 100, an annual dachshund race, and was struck by 4-year-old Asher, who was born without the use of his hind legs. Dachshunds were clearly never meant to be a racing animal; most of the participants in the race more interested in playing with each other than crossing the finish line.
Jun 15 2009
As this was my second victory parade this year, things went smoothly. Having experience photographing an event is often invaluable. I knew where I wanted to be and when I needed to be there.
The Post-Gazette had four photographers and two videographers working the parade. My job was to stay near the stage at the end of the parade route and photograph both the parade coming down the boulevard and the stage presentation. This is what I saw:
Jun 14 2009
Sundays are normally slow news days. The world operates at a different pace on the traditional day of rest. I usually enjoy the chance to get caught up on editing, e-mails, etc., and take the day at a relaxed pace.
Of course, those are Sundays that don't immediately follow the Penguins winning the Stanley Cup.
My first of three assignments today was to photograph a group of Penguins bringing the Stanley Cup to PNC Park to present it to the thousands of fans gathered to watch the Pittsburgh Pirates play the Detroit Tigers.
I knew before getting to the park that this would be a media frenzy. At big news events, photographers, videographers and reporters will all huddle around, sometimes shoulder to shoulder, and try to outdo each other. I've seen cities where the competition is fierce, but in Pittsburgh, the media are generally really receptive to each other.
We're still trying to outdo each other, but we're friendly about it.
I arrived at the stadium maybe five minutes before the team, and had just enough time to figure out where I wanted to stand. The first thing I saw, after a crowd standing outside started yelling, was Sidney Crosby holding the Cup, surrounded by police and others charged with protecting the trophy.
Crosby passed me as I held down the shutter. I then continued onto the field, where the presentation occurred. All the media gathered around one entrance to the field, where we thought the team would emerge. And then we all hustled over to the bullpen when we realized we had picked the wrong entrance.
Finally, the team arrived. It was a controlled chaos, as several police officers and officials kept the hoard of photographers in lines as the team was welcomed onto the field.
When I got back to the Post-Gazette, I got a call from an editor asking me to come in early for the victory parade Downtown tomorrow. And so I'll be one of only a handful of photographers to ever photograph both a Super Bowl and Stanley Cup parade in the same year. I love this city.
Jun 14 2009
About a year ago, I was assigned to photograph a planning meeting for an amputee camp called Camp STAR. When I asked my editors why we were photographing a meeting rather than the actual camp, I never got a satisfactory answer.
Knowing that space in the paper is in high demand, I pitched a multimedia feature on the camp to my editors, who quickly signed on to the idea. I wanted to stay for the duration of the camp, and use a combination of still photography and video to tell a story.
Being at the camp was an amazing experience. I had a lot of fun during the three days I spent there, and almost never stopped taking photographs (in the end, I had taken several thousand frames). When I got home, I spent the better part of a week splicing together still images, video interviews and music clips for the project.
This past weekend was Camp STAR's second annual camp. As the event neared, camp director Cindy McCue invited me to return, this time as a counselor. It was great to revisit those amazing people. And this time, as a kindness, I spared them by leaving my camera at home.
To watch my story on Camp STAR, click here.
Jun 09 2009
One of the best feelings for a photojournalist is having a prominently displayed front-page image. During a journalism class years ago, a professor told me about a study that tracked the eye's movement over a printed newspaper page; the first destination was almost always the photograph. I always thought that was cool.
I've had two front-page assignments in the last week or so. The first was a news conference.
News conferences are usually pretty formulaic (and, more often than not, visually dull), but Dr. Cyril Wecht's public statement after a judge dismissed all charges against him was interesting to me. Vivid emotion will always enhance the quality of a photograph, and Dr. Wecht was beaming.
Another A-1 photograph was the result of a slow news day. Sunday night editor Bill Wade called me around 6 p.m. or so to tell me that we didn't have a local photo for the front page. Which meant that it was my task to go find one. I went down to the Three Rivers Arts Festival, and pretty quickly noticed how those walking toward the Point were silhouetted in front of the fountain. As I watched and waited for a moment to develop, a young couple kissed as they were walking. It was lucky. Sometimes, a good feature photograph takes hours to find. Other times, it takes minutes.
Jun 08 2009
I've done some strange things in my years as a photographer. I've been inside a rattlesnake pit. I've hung over the edge of an open door while flying in a plane 3,000 feet off the ground. I've unsuccessfully tried to chase a tornado. I've had to deal with untimely death and how it affects those closest to it.
But I've never had an assignment just plain freak me out more than visiting the Allegheny County Morgue.
I didn't exactly know what to expect when I was assigned to reporter Sadie Gurman's story on the morgue's relocation. I'm usually pretty stoic behind the camera. But as my guide, Chief Forensic Investigator Ed Strimlan, took me into a room where an autopsy was being performed, I had to fight to keep my composure. The investigators performing the autopsy went along, acting as if this were the most normal thing in the world.
Another hard hit came when I actually entered a cooler used to store unclaimed bodies. The smell was overpowering. I held my breath as I shot the photo, yet I could still feel the stench.
It was an assignment I won't soon forget.
Check out Sadie's stories about the morgue here.